Chapter 235

These two forces, one scheming betrayal and abandonment of righteousness, the other still daydreaming, are actually a match for each other.

But before any action is taken, they already harbor sordid thoughts; how could the eventual outcome possibly conform to their wishes? Mount Buzhou.

In the Hall of Pangu, the eleven ancestral witches stared at one another, not knowing why Di Jiang had summoned them, yet he himself had not shown his face.

"The eldest brother is really muddle-headed; why did he summon us and then not show up?"

Gong Gong's voice rang like a great bell, echoing continuously in the sealed Hall of Pangu, causing several people to frown.

Zhu Jiuyin saw Gong Gong's attitude toward the eldest brother so disrespectful, and felt somewhat dissatisfied, saying:

"You idiot, shut up! The eldest brother acts according to his own plans—if he tells you to come, you come; if you don't want to, get out! Spouting such nonsense only needlessly angers people!"

Gong Gong's words naturally have merit; now the Gong Gong tribe is developing smoothly, making it the second largest tribe among the twelve ancestral witch tribes, only after the Hou Tu tribe.

Xiang Liu also enjoys great prestige among the Wu Clan; his strength is formidable, and he even faintly has the reputation of being the foremost person under the ancestral witches.

The development of the Gong Gong tribe naturally proceeded smoothly, but recently many problems have arisen.

The Wu Clan is sparsely populated; under normal circumstances, once a Wu marries, he leaves his natal family, seeks an unclaimed mountain range, and leads his new family to survive there.

Yet some mountain ranges or plains valleys are rich in resources, capable of sustaining more clanspeople.

In those places, every parcel hosts an extremely vigorous indigenous people; for the Wu Clan to survive there, it must inevitably compete with them.

Such competitions always involve bloodshed and sacrifice; only by paying a great price can success be achieved, and even then, most of the time the payoff is merely a failed outcome despite the cost.

Gong Gong spoke up precisely because the Gong Gong tribe had previously discovered such a fine place—a valley capable of sustaining thousands of clanspeople.

Even with Xiang Liu leading them, the Gong Gong tribe suffered heavy casualties when Gong Gong could not act, losing hundreds of clanspeople and wounding many more.

But just when hope of victory appeared, they discovered the opposing side had actually brought in members of the Di Jiang tribe.

One side stubbornly opposed them, while the other flung open its gates, welcoming the Di Jiang tribe to settle.

Only after the Di Jiang tribe had secured its footing did they withdraw, leaving the Gong Gong tribe diminished and colliding head‑on with the Di Jiang tribe, which had long been resting and building its strength.

The person who dealt with Xiang Liu was none other than the great witch of the Di Jiang tribe, Chi You.

Only after careful inquiry did they learn that the other side had requested supplies from the Di Jiang tribe, signed a contract, and handed over an entire valley to the Di Jiang tribe where Chi You resided.

Yet letting Xiang Liu withdraw like this left him unwilling; they had suffered heavy losses, while Chi You reaped the benefit—how could he endure that?

The indigenous people of the valley were again widely propagandized, painting Xiang Liu as a great fool, a bargaining chip for Chi You's negotiations.

Back and forth, the valley became a site of dispute, the two tribes fighting many battles there, each with wins and losses.

Aside from that, things were otherwise fine; but when the two great witches contended, Xiang Liu was in poor shape, suffered a big loss, and was soundly beaten by Chi You.

Consequently, the Gong Gong tribe also withdrew from the valley's contention; thereafter the peoples of the two tribes occasionally quarreled over game and hunting grounds.

Thus the Gong Gong and Di Jiang tribes naturally developed tensions, with the Gong Gong tribe suffering the loss; at this meeting, Gong Gong spoke up dissatisfied, inevitably bringing some heat.

The Wu Clan is too dispersed in settlement; Zhu Jiuyin was unaware of this, and seeing Gong Gong speak with veiled barbs, he naturally felt some displeasure.

"You're no good either, always tagging along behind him without gaining any benefit—I'm talking about the eldest brother, so you're angry at having a bastard child!"

Gong Gong let out a cold snort and then spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Could it be that some people think, by saying a few nice words for the eldest brother, they'll get a share when others strike it rich—or that they actually believe they are the eldest brother?"

Zhu Jiuyin flared up momentarily, not knowing how to rebut; Hou Tu and Xuan Ming wanted to mediate but didn't know how to start.

The Zhurong tribe is not far from the Gong Gong tribe and knows the full story, yet he enjoys watching the spectacle, not only failing to stop it but actually fanning the flames, saying: "If I were to say, you two should go out and fight—whoever wins is right."

"Zhu Jiuyin, you aren't trying to be the eldest brother, are you? If you beat me, Zhurong, I'll be the first to stand up and support you."

Zhu Jiuyin snapped: "Nonsense, I've never had such thoughts; Zhurong, you're no good either—stop watching the spectacle."

In the end, She Bishi could not bear it any longer and urged: "Alright, between us brothers, what matter cannot be spoken of properly? Don't let conflict arise."

He then turned to Zhurong: "Older brother, also refrain from such flame‑fanning; we are all brothers, we can't let outsiders see us as a joke."

The three finally settled down, but Gong Gong still couldn't swallow his resentment, letting out a sarcastic remark:

"I regard everyone as brothers and sisters, and they do the same—yet with our attitude, some people are not necessarily so!"

After saying that, he gave a cold snort, fell silent, and the crowd fell into an icy stillness, the atmosphere growing ever more eerie and rigid.

Although no one spoke it outright, those ancestral witches who had previously been unaware also silently realized that something seemed to have happened within the Wu Clan.

Moreover, the main issue likely lay between the Gong Gong and Di Jiang tribes, which is probably why Di Jiang summoned everyone this time.

After a moment, footsteps sounded in the great hall, and Di Jiang's figure appeared from the other end, making the atmosphere even heavier.

"How can you act like this—silent and reserved, unlike your usual fervor?"

Di Jiang still didn't know what had happened earlier in the great hall; seeing the gloomy mood, he cracked a joke or two, trying to lighten things up.

Upon seeing Di Jiang arrive, Gong Gong instead fell silent, closed his eyes, as if he hadn't heard Di Jiang's voice at all.

The other ancestral witches also wore a look of wanting to speak but holding back; Di Jiang glanced at them and immediately knew that Gong Gong was the source of the trouble.

Looking at Gong Gong's uncooperative demeanor, he felt angry yet somewhat amused, and muttered a mild rebuke:

"How come you won't even see me, your elder brother? Why are you acting like this?"

Saying this, he specifically glanced at Gong Gong, his words tinged with a hint of helplessness: "Looking at your attitude, I suppose you hold some dissatisfaction toward me; if you have anything to say, say it in front of all our brothers and sisters—don't put on that dead‑pan face."

Upon hearing this, Gong Gong exploded and shouted loudly:

"Dissatisfied? Of course I am! Acting like this dead‑pan? You don't know what the cause is!"

"Fine, since you let me speak before all our brothers and sisters, then let me ask you—see if you dare to admit it!"

Di Jiang paid no heed to Gong Gong's words, saying: "Go ahead then; what do I have to refuse to admit?"

"Good, good, good! Then let's have a proper discussion!"

Gong Gong, hearing Di Jiang speak like that and seeing his attitude, was so angry he blurted out three "goods" through gritted teeth, asking: "Let me ask you, East Evening Valley, the place west of Mount Buzhou, one billion eight million seven hundred thousand li inside and out—do you know about the dispute our two tribes have there?"

Di Jiang nodded and said: "I know."

Okay, East Name Valley, isn't it, in the direction we initially divided the tribes, the direction developed by the Gonggong tribe, also first discovered by the Gonggong tribe, do you acknowledge this?

Dijiang also did not refute, nodded and admitted:

Indeed, it was first discovered by the Gonggong tribe.

Gonggong, upon hearing this, saw Di Jiang still showing no reaction, instantly became somewhat angry, gritted his teeth and continued to ask:

"Fine, then do you know how many youths of our Gonggong tribe have been lost for this land, and what a great price we have paid?"

"Your subordinate Chiyou, yet led the Di Jiang people, and while our Gonggong tribe's youths were fighting and killing, he acted in a petty manner, stealing our Gonggong tribe's battle gains."

"Let me ask you, in the direction of our Gonggong tribe's development, we Gonggong tribe were the first to discover and also the first to act, yet you let the Di Jiang people steal the results."

"You say, should I be angry about this, and is someone who does such a thing in accordance with brotherhood?"

Upon hearing this, Di Jiang's brows furrowed, he was somewhat displeased, and asked: "You just regard me this way?"

Gonggong, laughing angrily, said:

"The facts are exactly so; what do you mean by 'you regard me this way'? Now I instead want to ask you: how do you regard us brothers and sisters with your actions?"

"You let your subordinates bully brothers and sisters, and now you come to ask me? Such behavior—is that what an elder brother should be like?"

The other ancestral witches, upon hearing this, were instantly startled, secretly thinking things had gone bad, and Xuan Ming immediately spoke up to stop them:

"Brother Gonggong, watch your words!"

Zhu Jiuyin even more angrily shouted: "Gonggong! Shut your mouth!"

Immediately thereafter, he turned his head to Di Jiang and urged:

"Elder brother, Gonggong is just a bit angry; his original intention is not like this, so don't get angry—I will definitely speak more for him later."

Zhurong, standing nearby, seeing the situation become serious, also dared not continue to watch the spectacle, and likewise stepped forward to urge:

"Brother Gonggong, how can you speak like that? Elder brother naturally has his reasons for doing things; moreover, listen to what elder brother says, how about that?"

Although Zhurong's words were meant to mediate, their underlying meaning also showed his support for Gonggong, letting him wait a moment, see how Di Jiang will explain, and then act depending on the situation.

Hou Tu, Shebi Shi, and others also all tried to mediate, wanting to put this matter behind them; the ten ancestral witches each grabbed the two individuals, wasting quite a bit of talk, before finally letting the two return to their seats.

Di Jiang, seeing Gonggong's appearance, knew in his heart that if this matter were not properly handled, there would likely be more contradictions later among the Wu Clan, so he could only speak up:

"What you speak of, I indeed know; this is also one of the reasons I summoned everyone today."

"Since this matter came up first, let's discuss it first."

Gonggong saw that Di Jiang indeed had the attitude to resolve this matter, so he calmly sat down and waited for his explanation.

"Initially, we took Mount Buzhou as the center of heaven and earth, divided into twelve directions, with each of our twelve tribes occupying a piece."

"However, back then we did not yet understand the primordial heaven and earth; although the division angles were equal, the terrain they passed through varied greatly."

"You see, such back-and-forth development is naturally unbalanced, and furthermore, due to the Heavenly Court's grand plan to balance the three categories, the four continents developed extremely unevenly, further widening the gap."

"At first it was still fine, everyone being in the eastern continent, and no one noticed; but after the Heavenly Court's several adjustments, the gap has become too large."

"Like me, Goumang, and Shouxuan, our development direction faces west, which is an extremely impoverished land, lacking spiritual veins and even having few living beings."

"After the Heavenly Court's adjustments, it became impoverished to an unknown degree; how could it possibly develop further in the long run?"

"Goumang and Shouxuan originally were not very willing to develop their tribes, and their tribes are also under my jurisdiction, so they don't mind."

"But I cannot help but consider the youths of my tribe; they must make a living, and heading west can only be a bare survival."

"Compared to other lands, how could they possibly be satisfied in their hearts?"

"Therefore, when the Gonggong tribe attacked Dongxi Valley, my subordinate tribe's people, having been invited, naturally could not bear to give up such a good place."

"Moreover, the indigenous tribes in the valley asked for an extremely low price; at the time we were unaware, and thus fell into their trap."

"The Di Jiang tribe is not as wealthy as your tribes; the spiritual objects stored are not many, and after paying those tribes, we became even more impoverished!"

"I know you're angry, but if we directly return it to you, my tribe's youths would likely suffer hardship for a long time!"

"Let me ask you, in this situation, how should I handle it? Your tribe's youths have sacrificed, and you are therefore dissatisfied."

"But my tribe's youths were also deceived; returning it would indeed restore our friendship, yet how could I bear to see those children starve and freeze?"

Upon speaking to this point, Di Jiang actually felt somewhat uneasy; those indigenous tribes' prices were indeed cheap, but the Di Jiang tribe is not wealthy either.

When encountering such an opportunity, how could we possibly let it pass? Moreover, Chiyou and his group were previously unaware as well; only after handing over those spiritual objects did they learn of the Gonggong tribe's situation.

This also made it difficult for Di Jiang to blame further; he wanted to retrieve those spiritual objects, but he could not bring himself to speak up.

One cannot simply tell those indigenous tribes, "Your land was originally going to be seized by our Wu Clan, so we must take back the spiritual objects we gave you."

If that were the case, the Wu Clan's reputation would likely not be preserved, and it would become the laughingstock of the primordial wilderness.

But if we simply return Dongxi Valley to the Gonggong tribe, the Di Jiang tribe would merely have to grit its teeth and bear this loss; being laughed at would be minor, while the ensuing hardship would be great!

Furthermore, if we return it, the tribespeople's unwillingness cannot be ignored; at that point, how would those tribespeople view their chieftain? Gonggong, hearing Di Jiang's words, also remained silent; he could not give up Dongxi Valley either, and the tribespeople's sacrifices, long left unaddressed, have already made them keep this matter in their hearts.

Lightly letting go would only become a thorn in the hearts of the Gonggong tribe's people, inevitably festering over time! In the Pangu Hall, the atmosphere grew ever more silent.

PS: After finishing a chapter, I'll go out for a meal, take a break, then come back to continue writing! Hope everyone gives lots of support! (End of chapter)